City action may pare down march for immigrants' rights

Saturday

Apr 26, 2008 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - A march in support of immigrant rights planned for Thursday might be curtailed after city officials told organizers they would have to pay for police service should participants stray from sidewalks and onto streets.

Jennifer Torres

STOCKTON - A march in support of immigrant rights planned for Thursday might be curtailed after city officials told organizers they would have to pay for police service should participants stray from sidewalks and onto streets.

The march would be Stockton's third consecutive May 1 demonstration. Luis Magaña, one of its organizers, said the committee planning the march does not have the roughly $2,000 needed to pay for police - and didn't have to pay in the past.

He said members would try to fundraise, but he believes the city's stance is politically motivated.

"They don't want to identify with the immigrants," he said.

City Attorney Ren Nosky and other officials said their concerns are for safety and fairness.

"If it overflows into the street, then for safety reasons, we have to bring in police intervention or close the street altogether," Nosky said. "Last year, he agreed to stay on the sidewalk and that didn't happen, and that's not necessarily his fault."

On May 1, about 1,000 people marched from South Lincoln Street to De Carli Square, at some points stalling traffic.

The crowd was far smaller than in 2006, when an estimated 10,000 supporters marched to a rally at Weber Point.

At a City Council meeting Tuesday, Magaña asked members to consider waiving or lowering the fees required.

"This year is the third time Stockton celebrates this collective effort to get immigration reform," he said through a translator.

Bobbie Bivens, president of the Stockton chapter of the NAACP, spoke in support of the march.

"The NAACP does believe that it's an issue related to civil rights, to human rights," he said. "I would ask the city to ... at least make it affordable."

Mayor Ed Chavez responded.

"Last year, the march grew to rather large numbers, and what was committed to was not adhered to," he said. "It required the need for police services to be brought in to provide for the safety of the marchers and the community at large."

Pete Smith, a spokesman for the Stockton Police Department, said the march committee was presented several options for walking routes - at least one of which would not require police services.

The planned route - from 609 S. Lincoln St. to Weber Point via Weber Avenue and Center Street - would require about $2,000.

"We want to do it legally," Magaña said. If necessary, he said, the march could be scaled back and follow a route roughly around Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza. "It's not much, but it's something."